Tuesday, December 28, 2010

I got a B&W nook for my birthday in September, and I just got a nook color for Christmas. (They were both from my husband, who now quite happily owns the B&W one.) Plus, I got about $150 in B&N gift certificates!

Because we were snowed in, I read cover-to-cover The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (purchased months ago on my B&W) and Denial: A Memoir of Terror (same). Now I've started Garnethill, a Scottish crime novel. Aaaah, this is the life.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Found this online:Traditional Christmas pudding referred to in the carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Recipe (and text) by Mitchel Whitington That 16th century carole from the West county of England we sing every Christmas repeatedly refers to figgy pudding. And I've always wondered, "what the heck is figgy pudding?" My research not only turned up a great pudding recipe but it also revealed just what pudding really is and what it isn't. Puddings didn't used to be the artificially flavored custard-like desserts found in plastic cups that are inserted into kids school lunch boxes. They were more like the bread pudding we make today. You really need a pudding mold for this recipe [Note: Sarah used a Pyrex bowl]. You can buy an inexpensive metal one from any kitchen supply store. Just make sure the mold will hold at least 2 liters or 2 1/2 quarts.

Directions Preheat oven to 350 F [Note: Sarah used a steamer insert in a big, lidded pasta pot on the stovetop to steam pudding]. In a 2 quart saucepan over medium-low heat, simmer figs in milk, covered, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not boil. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Next in a large bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat eggs 1 minute. Reduce speed to low; add butter, bread crumbs, orange peel and warm fig mixture. Gradually add flour mixture and beat until just blended. Spoon pudding batter into well-buttered mold, cover and place mold in a large Dutch oven. Pour enough hot water into the Dutch oven to cover the bottom 1/3 of the mold. Steam pudding for 2 hours, invert and unmold onto plate. Serve warm with hard sauce drizzled over each serving. Serves 8

In medium saucepan, bring stock to a boil. Chop onion and chives. (Keep stock over low heat after reaching the boil.)

In large saucepan, melt 3 tb butter over medium. When butter starts to brown/foam, add onion and cook about 3 min. Add rice and stir to coat.

Add brandy and simmer until evaporated, about 3 min. Start adding the stock: 1/2 c at a time, stirring until fully absorbed before adding next 1/2 c. Cook until rice is tender but still firm to the bite, about 25 min. Remove from heat.

This one, written for the grill, was changed to suit our kitchen and, instead of using a few 1-lb stripers, we used a hunk of sea bass. Also, the vinaigrette is supposed to be serrano-basil, but we forgot to put in the basil (3 tb finely chopped basil leaves, meant to be added after processing is done, at the end). The sauce was amazing nonetheless -- a homemade hot sauce!

Juice the lemon. Pick crab over for bits of shell. Peel and devein shrimp. Grate cheese.

Melt butter over very low heat in heavy saucepan. Stir in flour with a wooden spoon. Cook about 1 min, then slowly start adding milk. Switch to whisk and stir until sauce is smooth, about 2 min. Add wine, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and cayenne, then whisk until sauce has a mayonnaise consistency. Remove from heat.

Mash the potatoes and parsnips well together in large bowl. Add baccala mixture, warm milk, the rest of the olive oil, butter, salt, and pepper. Blend well; form patties, if you wish, tho' they will be quite soft. Keep warm. (We panko-dusted our patties and pan-fried them.)

We didn't quite make it up to 7 for Christmas dinner, but we came close. We had mussels (best ever), salt-cod cakes, shrimp and crab au gratin, serrano-pepper-sauced sea bass (the sauce, courtesy of Bobby Flay, was voted amazing), and lobster risotto (the only offering that =completely= disappeared). We also had orange-cardamom beets (just for you, John), crookneck casserole, and traditional figgy pudding. Mmmm.

Recipes to follow. I'll include the one for Morrocan cod (we use haddock), which we prepared -- all but the cooking -- and then did not serve. Everyone was too full.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

By which I mean the Bronski Beat album. I acquired it in 1985. I was stunned to see, on the inner sleeve, data and statistics on laws regarding homosexual activity, country to country and state to state. In 1985, people hoped to legislate homosexual activity out of existence.

This week, in 2010, 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' bit the dust. Honestly, I nearly wept. It is a simple and basic thing to permit individuals to be who they are. It lessened us all to have a country in which DADT held sway.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Tonight, after a holiday party for the kids at work, I had to use the hot tub. I wrapped up my classes first -- just details -- then had dinner, then soaked. Afterward I took a shower and settled in front of the TV for our annual Love Actually viewing.

This all feels NORMAL -- am I really not sitting in the office all night, working on ABA stuff? Oh my goodness.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

I used this image on Facebook last weekend to signal support of an anti-violence against children initiative. I've had the theme song in my head ever since.

I just looked on imdb, and Wally Cox voiced the dog! Reading that and reflecting, it's clear that he did, but I was about 6 years old, so who knew? Odd that I loved the skewering aspect of the show when I was that young. It didn't end until 1974, so probably I was actually a good bit older than 6.

This week is a perfect storm of commitments and responsibilities. I haven't even touched my Christmas cards! I have 3 pages done of a 10-page paper...and I'm hosting the holiday this year! Today I completed 2 assignments, got a good start on a 3rd, completed a test, put together 5 monthly reports for a state agency for work, and attended a class meeting. Tomorrow is paper and so is Friday (when it's due), so I just don't know when I'm going to get back to the 3rd assignment. But it's also due Friday, so I have to fit it in. Except I work tomorrow in Lawrence, an hour-long commute each way.

Thanks for reading this far. On top of the above, I have a parent who is going to require 24/7 assistance with daily living upon discharge, probably next week. As soon as my classes wrap up, a new responsibility arises.

The class meeting tonight was for thesis guidance, so of course I'm also supposed to be producing my thesis (75 pages), and a new online course began last week. I haven't even =thought= about the 4 papers that it requires. AAAAAAAGH

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

When Vic and I were in New Zealand this year, we expressed how impressed we were with the accommodations for children: skate parks, bungie rides, traditional playgrounds, and...the dreaded water balls.

Today in Massachusetts, because a five-year-old had an as-yet-unexplained reaction, water balls are on their way to being banned. Personally, I do not believe that they are essentially "giant plastic bags" that children can put over their heads, as some-or-other commissioner said on the news. What I think they are is wicked fun.

So now I guess the number of inches of padding that a playground must have below its equipment gets larger.

I think that meatballs are the perfect food. My favorites are beef, but I also like turkey, lamb, chicken, pork, and veal meatballs. When I was in high school, and my friends went out for pizza, I would order a side of meatballs and skip the pizza. (I don't like standard pizza, never did.)

They contain just a little starch and plenty of protein. In sauce, they can feature veggie nutrients. Yum.

I now know two places in Beverly with very good meatballs, one in the Cummings Center (bldg 100, Il Tramminzo or similar), and one on Cabot Street near the bridge. So how come I don't know where in Gloucester makes great meatballs? People, I need to know!